Psychiatry billing combines E&M visit codes with psychotherapy add-on codes, requiring precise documentation of both medical decision-making and therapy minutes. This page covers the top ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes and CPT procedure codes used by psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners in outpatient and inpatient settings across the US.
FY 2026 ICD-10-CM (CMS) · All codes verified billable
Psychiatrists who provide both medication management and psychotherapy in the same visit bill the E&M code (99213/99214) plus a psychotherapy add-on code (90833/90836/90838) — do not bill a standalone psychotherapy code (90837) if prescribing is involved.
Document the psychotherapy time separately from the E&M time: the add-on codes require 16-37 min (90833), 38-52 min (90836), or 53+ min (90838) of psychotherapy beyond the E&M.
PDMP (Prescription Drug Monitoring Program) queries should be documented at every visit where controlled substances are prescribed — required by most state laws and reduces audit exposure.
Inpatient psychiatric services use different E&M codes: 99221-99223 for initial hospital care and 99231-99233 for subsequent visits — not the outpatient 99213/99214 series.
90833 is a psychotherapy add-on code billed in addition to an E&M visit (99213/99214) when the psychiatrist provides both medication management AND therapy in the same encounter. 90837 is a standalone 60-minute psychotherapy code used when no E&M service is provided. Psychiatrists who prescribe medications should use the add-on code approach.
Can a psychiatrist bill 99214 and 90836 together?
Yes. This is the correct approach when a psychiatrist performs a moderate-complexity E&M (medication management, risk assessment) AND provides 38-52 minutes of psychotherapy in the same visit. Both services must be separately documented. The add-on code (90836) is billed alongside the E&M code.
What ICD-10 code is used for schizophrenia?
F20.9 is Schizophrenia, unspecified — the most commonly used code. F20.0 is Paranoid schizophrenia, F20.1 is Disorganized type, F20.3 is Undifferentiated type. Code to the specific subtype when documented. Schizoaffective disorder (F25.x) is distinct from schizophrenia and should not be coded as F20.x.
What code is used for inpatient psychiatric admission?
99221 (straightforward/low complexity), 99222 (moderate complexity), or 99223 (high complexity) are the initial hospital care codes for the admission day. Subsequent inpatient visits use 99231-99233. Psychiatric hospitals also use the Observation codes (99218-99220) for observation-status admissions.
How does OmniMD support psychiatry practices?
OmniMD’s Psychiatry EHR includes psychiatric-specific documentation templates, integrated PDMP querying, e-prescribing for controlled substances with DEA-compliant workflows, and built-in psychotherapy time tracking to support accurate add-on code selection at each encounter.
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